In Query/In Confidence
My brand new Wikia series: In Query/In Confidence, allows me to talk with some major figures in the Project-Terra universe. It's not a joke, it's not a novelty (for that, check out Fun IRC Chats. Episodes are weekly, anyone can come forward to be interviewed or make a suggestion for an interviewee, although some episodes are planned in advance and schedules will not be altered. Pilot: Mikey Uncut /whois Mikey Mikey is the second-in-command (King's Hand) of Seven Kingdoms, PT's oldest alliance. The TerraLeaker spoke with him. 19:41:23 You are second in command of the oldest alliance on PT. Where you there when the alliance was first made? 19:41:34 yep 19:41:55 And what was the reaction? 19:43:17 hmm, well I guess it depends when you date the founding of SK. Technically we started as a small alliance called FPE back in the early early days of PT before anybody really played it, and there was no reaction really as we were the first alliance :P When we re-declared as SK when the game came back up, the reaction was I guess the normal welcoming of new alliances. We had ties to Guardian... 19:43:18 ...from another game, so we were friendly with them, but otherwise I don't think there were any special expectations that others had of us at that time. 19:43:47 What was your biggest fear about SK? 19:45:07 that we would fail to develop a good sized active member base I suppose. Since the game was relatively new and most other alliances were ports of major CN entities, I wasn't sure we would be able to find a lot of good fresh blood. 19:46:15 Your official title states you are an advisor. Does Tenages often need advising? 19:48:22 Well I definitely advise him often on everything we do, as does the rest of the small council. Its not that he needs advising necessarily -''' he's one of the most capable people I know''' honestly - but we tend to discuss everything and debate it in the SC before doing anything. 19:48:41 Its just part of the gov style I suppose 20:02:53 Have there been any incidents in which you have disagreed? 20:05:10 Yeah we've disagreed on a few things. I was initially opposed to instituting an academy to test new recruits before they are accepted as members, something Tenages was very much in favor of (though I've been won round to the cause). We often end up disagreeing on aesthetic issues like how to style the forums of what our flag should look like :P And we have somewhat opposite views on recruiting. 20:14:21 What are your views on recruiting? 20:15:52 Personally I'm more into mass recruiting, where he favors a more selective approach. We both agree that we should be selective in our acceptance policies, but I still think its better to continue mass advertising to new nations and encourage people who might be interested to apply and see if they make it. Maybe I've just always been in alliances where mass recruiting was the norm and it... 20:15:54 ...rubbed off on me :P 20:16:43 Generally though our ideas on the matter are pretty similar, but its one of few points of any disagreement I can think of. Typically we manage to come away more or less in agreement on whatever we do somehow :P Congress should take a lesson. 20:18:12 Have you ever seriously doubted Tenages judgement on a matter? What's the closest you've ever come to saying 'enough' and packing your SK bags? 20:19:17 Well its not a very exciting answer, but never really. Most of our disagreements have been fairly minor, or about things that I don't care too much about, so it's never been a problem so far. I honestly can't really see myself leaving SK as long as I play PT. 20:21:44 What has been your most controversial move? 20:22:52 Definitely pushing for us to go paperless. There was a fair amount of resistance and skepticism, both within SK and from other alliances. It was the dominant model for CN and any other game like it, and not everyone was convinced by my arguments. Not everyone still is, but I got them to let me try it out :P It still remains fairly within PT as a whole as well I'd say. 20:23:23 Do you have any regrets based on your time in PT? 20:24:36 I regret not buying more land right at the beginning :P Everyone else bought millions of km and got mega rich later on. I only bought hundreds of thousands and got merely super rich. Honestly though, I can't really think of any regrets. Maybe giving up our old forum style, as I am still pretty fond of it, but thats fairly minor. 20:28:15 If you had to replace Tenages, who would you choose (and would you choose yourself?) 20:31:13 hmm, now there's a tough question. I would probably pick me as would the others as its the natural progression as per the charter. I can't really see it making too big of a difference which one of us becomes King though in terms of how it would affect the alliance, as we're all capable people and we do everything pretty much by consensus. The only time I can remember a King doing anything... 20:31:14 ...unilaterally was when Lion was in charge, and well,' that didn't last too long. ' 20:34:09 What did Lion do? 20:36:46 It wasn't really any one particular incident. After being King for a little while ( I don't remember how long exactly, its in the history page) people started disagreeing with his leadership style, he wasn't consulting the council enough, that sort of thing. When we approached him about stepping down the situation got out of control and he banned all the other gov members. We managed to... 20:36:47 ...convince him to give us back control of the in-game alliance (we had re-taken control of the forums) and he was removed from the alliance. 20:37:08 thats the gist of it anyway. There's a longer description on our history page, but that more or less sums it up. 20:40:29 Great, thanks for your time Episode 1: Centurius If there is one thing I don't understand, it's why some people can be such great players at PT, but lay so low on the forums. Centurius, a wannabe mod and lay-low player, agreed to talk to me for In Query/In Confidence, in the hope that it would help his campaign to become a moderator and make him more of a prominent figure. Some of this interview has been cut for quality purposes. 17:09:56 Hi 17:10:05 Hello 17:11:03 In 2011, mid July, you asked to become a moderator 17:11:23 I recall yes 17:11:44 What made you decide to do that? 17:12:49 Well I have had previous experience with moderation in other games and felt I'd be a good arbiter. At the time PT was also still in an infant stage so I thought any help I could provide might be useful 17:13:04 I assume nothing came of your offer? 17:13:21 That would be correct 17:13:34 That's a shame, you would have made a good moderator. 17:13:47 Thanks, I appreciate that :) 17:13:55 Ah well as soon as the game goes open beta''' I will try again''' 17:14:13 You are very inactive when it comes to posting on the forums, however you said you "read most of what gets posted", and your presence on IRC shows you have continued interest in the game. 17:14:28 Why do you choose not to get involved with forum politics? 17:15:56 Well, until recently I was alliance government in Cybernations. It was a relief to play a good game without attracting real attention forum politics would cause 17:16:31 what alliance will you join when the game reopens? 17:17:25 I honestly have no preference yet, I will probably make my choice on the last possible moment heh Episode 2: ScratchScreen This is possibly the most controversial interview I have conducted to date. Many people are calling it an interview with myself. 16:01:22 Hi 16:01:35 Hi 16:01:45 Thanks for agreeing to do this interview, what made you say yes? 16:02:27 i guess i thought it'd make people realize, finally, that''' i am NOT the terraleaker''' 16:02:31 no offence but''' i hate you''' 16:02:57 None taken. We haven't exactly got the best history, would you like to talk a bit about that? 16:03:08 a bit about what? 16:03:31 A bit about our history, the reasons you don't like me. 16:04:23 oh right, well i guess it started in fun (free united nations). you leaked my whole department of discipline and''' it seemed like u were targeting me''' 16:04:37 who was it that leaked all that to you, anyway? 16:04:50 I'm afraid that's still confidential 16:05:13 oh right well, nevermind, i'm pretty sure we've got rid of the culprit. doesn't matter really i've left now 16:05:49 Well, I've obviously done my research and rumours suggest that you have left F.U.N. and started a new alliance with Kruschev - RedStorm? 16:06:10 i don't know what i'm allowed to tell you about that, no declarations have been made 16:06:27 Right, well this is an 'In Confidence' interview so I'd appreciate your transparency 16:06:58 wel you're not getting it in this case. 16:08:42 OK, that's fine. So, as I said I've been doing my research 16:09:45 yep 16:10:13 And on the 10th November, 2012, King declared that the identity of the TerraLeaker was.... 16:10:19 you 16:10:21 me 16:10:23 yes 16:10:36 What was your response? 16:11:01 well as soon as he posted it i'm pretty sure i said 'what the fuck' 16:11:04 You did, yes 16:11:16 especially because then you started 'confessing' to it 16:11:31 Yes, in order to cover my back I decided to say I was you. 16:11:40 i didn't like you much then, either 16:11:43 fair enough 16:12:43 i released a statement 16:13:02 Yes, you did. I have a copy here 16:13:19 "There is no discussion in this matter, I am not the TerraLeaker.My fight against the TerraLeaker begun in FreeUnitedNations, and has continued into every alliance I have joined. A lot of confidential information about my fight against him was leaked to the website, by President Marin.I have put all my effort into uncovering him, but That's all there is to it. 0" 16:13:29 Can you talk me through that statement? 16:13:35 yh 16:13:44 i was abrupt, well i tried to be 16:13:59 i capitalized all my 'i's lol ;) 16:14:42 "My fight against the TerraLeaker first begun in FreeUnitedNations" 16:14:44 I talked about how I have fought against you 16:14:52 yeah that's an example 16:15:06 i started the whole department of discipline thing and you leakd it 16:15:45 Perhaps the most controversial statement of all: "by President Marin" can you explain that? 16:15:53 i just assumed it was marin 16:16:20 i knew that he was involved with the whole thing, but i suppose i jumped the gun when i just said 'it's marin' and then he made that rap about me 16:16:27 and you made one back which didn't help my case 16:17:07 It was my intention to allow the blame to rest with you. 16:18:00 yh well thanks a bunch for that 16:18:27 I'm not going to say I'm not you, ever. For all anyone knows I'm just talking to myself here 16:19:09 you're not, and i don't see why u can't just say 'i'm not scratchscreen' 16:19:12 who are you? 16:19:37 If only it were that easy, eh Scratch 16:20:34 right 16:20:46 Well, after that statement was released, Marin had a bit to say 16:21:06 yh he had a bit i don't remember exactly 16:31:34 yes, I have the quote here 16:31:56 "Scratch Screen, I thought you were my friend back where the Independent Republic and the Free United Nations were allies and present day, but it is too bad KingFloater isn't here to put you in the place where you need to be put in. Everything you have said in that post is a lie." 16:32:03 oh my days marin is so annying basically 16:32:17 i really didn't like him in fun 16:32:35 he was always yacking on and every time i made a comment he thought it was a personal attack 16:32:48 That's something we have in common then! 16:32:59 yh 16:34:14 Now for the duration, Kruschev stood up for you. 16:34:33 yh he did, i like kruschev. other people stood up for me too, not just him, there was pretty much a mixed view 16:35:26 It caused a stir 16:35:33 What was it like, how did life change 16:35:46 when i suggested a recruitment game 16:35:48 ppl did not like that 16:37:58 A lot of people spoke about rolling you, what were you thinking? 16:38:03 tbh i was just thinking 'im screwed 16:38:39 but they did start sayin about u reportign the hacker 16:38:53 so even the ppl who thought i was the terraleaker liked me a bit 16:38:57 Are you the TerraLeaker? 16:39:33 no 16:39:44 Who supported you the most while you tried to persuade everyone that you weren't 16:39:58 good question, gotta be kruschev and ej smith was randomly friendly 16:40:06 he sent me a message saying he knew i wasn't the terraleaker 16:40:15 i did also get a lot of messages asking for leaks tho 16:40:53 EJ Smith made a threat to Marin 16:40:57 "you so much as fire a slingshot at Scratch Screen's nation, I'm coming and an asswhooping's coming with me" 16:41:48 yh that was nice of him 16:42:03 Now some people, including Chrisford, were starting to believe that you were without a doubt the TerraLeaker 16:42:42 "I, personally, am starting to be convinced that ScratchScreen is TerraLeaker; not because of the evidence that the King provided, but because of some of the stuff ScratchScreen is saying in response to the accusation and TerraLeaker's response to Marin" 16:42:49 thats when i shit myself really 16:43:05 You were scared? 16:43:14 i dunno, i've never spoken to this guy 16:43:18 but he seemed pretty important 16:43:47 If you could go back and change the way you dealt with the accusations, what would you do? 16:43:54 i wouldn't have accused marin 16:44:00 i don't know 16:44:08 because a lot of my problems came from u 16:44:13 what would u do differently? 16:44:32 To this day, people think I'm you. For me, that's a stroke of luck, that is assuming I'm not you. 16:45:05 isn't you doing this interview proof that we're different people 16:45:17 For a lot of people, it isn't proof enough 16:45:52 oh 16:46:07 What was your short term plan, did you have a quick plan? 16:46:21 i spoke to a couple of people 16:46:28 and decided the best bet would be to change my name 16:46:35 but if anyone found out about it 16:46:42 they'd assume that i was the terraleaker 16:46:51 so i decided to just keep on with scratchscreen 16:47:16 Your recruitment game received a lot of critical response 16:47:20 to be honest, I think it's stupid. 16:47:39 i dunno, it will make more sense when it's operating 16:48:02 Do you think the negative feedback was because it was a bad idea, or because of your association with me? 16:48:12 i like to think it was a bad idea 16:48:24 i really really hate the thought of STILL being associated with you 16:48:29 like i said, no offence, but i hate you 16:49:12 Tell me about RedStorm 16:49:30 ok, i wil say this: redstorm is an alliance that i am currently involved with. 16:49:37 Heavily? 16:49:43 huh? 16:50:03 Are you heavily involved with this alliance? 16:50:06 huh? 16:50:09 i don't understand 16:50:13 what's your role? 16:50:29 oh rright, i'm the vice-president 16:50:52 ' [] wants to know:' 16:51:05 When will you stop pretending to be relevant? 16:51:14 he's basically just saying im not important, right? 16:51:16 Right. 16:51:48 i wish i wasn't so relevant to be honest 16:52:13 What do you mean by that? 16:52:46 when people hear that name, i mean, what do they think of...they think of u and bad stuff and obsession and leaking that isn't who i am that's who you are!! 16:53:42 ' Chaos wants to know what's the weather like' 16:57:07 ' lol wat a legend ... it's alright bit snowy tho' 16:57:34 RagnarBuliwyf said the first thing he thought of when I said 'ScratchScreen' was 'ass' 16:59:34 oh right well thanks for that 16:59:59 What are you going to do now? 17:00:15 With regard to the whole 'you are the terraleaker' fiasco 17:00:19 i dunno 17:00:24 i want to wait for it to blow over 17:00:28 i want to start a new account 17:00:31 but i know nothing will fix it 17:00:59 Do you ever consider leaving PT? 17:01:03 yeah 17:01:12 it might be the best thing to do, you know? 17:01:31 ScratchScreen, thank you very much for agreeing to speak to me in confidence. 17:01:44 Tomorrow, we'll spend another hour chatting 17:01:46 joy 17:02:00 about RedStorm, FUN and much more. 17:02:18 Would you be willing to take public questions? 17:02:24 i'd rather not 17:02:30 why not? 17:02:41 i'm worried i'll say the wrong thing and you'll save the logs 17:02:45 i've had to be so careful 17:03:06 OK, that's not a problem then. See you tomorrow.